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Monthly Archives: August 2016

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From left, Bea Ruberto; Inge Goldstein, Sound Beach Civic Association membership chair; Suffolk County Supervisor Steve Bellone; and Suffolk County Leg. Sarah Anker at the bus stop in Sound Beach when second run of the 5A was added in 2014. File photo by Erika Karp

By Bea Ruberto

Sound Beach, nestled between Miller Place and Rocky Point, had a population of 7,612 as of 2010. When I first became involved with the Sound Beach Civic Association, I often heard that our hamlet was forgotten by all levels of government. I can honestly say that in recent years, this has begun to change. Among other projects, the Town of Brookhaven was instrumental in revitalizing Echo Avenue and paving this road to lower Rocky Point Road and is currently working on restoring the East Beach.

Several years ago, Suffolk County recognized the need for better bus service through Sound Beach and added two new runs of the 5A. Now, they’re getting ready to take this back and more — eliminate the 5A. This will mean there will be no service north of 25A and east of Echo Avenue. The only “service” will be the S62, which skirts our community and only runs twice a day — in the a.m. eastbound and p.m. westbound — to allow people to get to Suffolk County offices during rush hour.

Suffolk County is planning to eliminate eight routes throughout the system to help close a looming $78 million deficit, and, yes, the 5A is not a busy route, but it is the only public transportation in Sound Beach. People use this to get to work and to doctors’ appointments and to connect with other routes in Port Jefferson and Middle Island. In addition, an increasingly aging population may need to do things as basic as get to the grocery store. At this point, I don’t use the bus system, but, having just turned 70, I foresee a time in the not-too-distant future when I may need to give up my car.

According to the county, in some cases there may be alternate routes for passengers. In Sound Beach, this only applies to those living within walking distance of 25A, and most Sound Beachers live too far to walk to 25A. In other cases, existing routes may be altered to cover key destinations on the routes subject to elimination.

We then ask that the route of the 5A be modified instead of eliminated.

Barring this, perhaps the S62 can be modified so that it runs through Sound Beach proper and more often than once in the morning and once in the evening.

Public hearings on this will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on the following dates/locations:

• Thursday, Sept. 8, Riverhead Legislative Auditorium, Evans K. Griffing Building, 300 Center Drive, Riverhead.

• Friday, Sept. 9, Hauppauge Legislative Auditorium, W. H. Rogers Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Smithtown.

Written comments may be submitted up to five days following the hearings to Suffolk County Transit, 335 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank 11980-9774.

Members of the Sound Beach Civic Association will attend the Sept. 8 meeting. If this route is removed, it won’t be easy to get the service back. We urge everyone in Sound Beach to join us whether you ride the bus or not. We will also be crafting a written comment that will be made available for use by the community. For more information, to get a copy of the written comment or if you need a ride to the Sept. 8 meeting, email [email protected] or call 631-744-6952.

Bea Ruberto is a Sound Beach resident and current president of the Sound Beach Civic Association.

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Rose Andrews gives children a tour of her family’s farm. Photo by Doreen O’Connor

By Erin Dueñas

Nineteen-year-old Rose Andrews has no idea what it means to be bored. Part of the sixth generation of Andrews who work the land at Andrews Family Farm in Wading River, there is work to be done from sunrise till sunset.

Up by 6 a.m., Andrews’ days begin by collecting eggs from the farm’s hens. Throughout the day, she might cut sunflowers to sell at the stand, deliver fresh-picked corn, zucchini or tomatoes to a neighboring farm, help customers or tend to the animals, including goats and rabbits.

“Being bored just doesn’t exist when you farm,” said Andrews. “There’s not much you can do after sundown, but even then you are planning for the next day.”

Working alongside her three older brothers and her parents, the constant work that goes into farm life doesn’t faze the Wading River resident in the least. She currently attends the University of Connecticut, where she studies agriculture and natural resources and agribusiness. Before graduating from Shoreham-Wading River High School in 2015, she said she recalls hearing classmates make weekend plans to hit the mall or the beach. But being in the family business, Andrews knew she would be at the farm instead.

“It’s just always been what my life is — the constant responsibility of the farm,” she said. “Being a farmer, it never stops.”

Rose Andrews works the Andrews Family Farm stand in Wading River. Photo by Erin Dueñas;
Rose Andrews works the Andrews Family Farm stand in Wading River. Photo by Erin Dueñas

According to Andrews, she’s never resented the farm life and constant workflow to maintain it, even while others her age might be out at a party or with friends.

“I’ve always been pretty different and I feel fortunate to be brought up this way,” she said. “I never cared what other people do. This place doesn’t make me feel like I’m missing anything. It’s my favorite place in the world.”

Andrews credits her parents with instilling a strong work ethic in her, calling them the hardest working people she ever met.

“They brought us up that family matters and the farm matters,” Andrews said. “It’s hard work, but at the end of the day, you love what you do.”

Her mother Denise Andrews concedes that there was little downtime for her kids growing up farmers. “There was no such thing as sleeping in past 7 a.m.,” she said. “The kids never had time for video games or television.”

Her children joined her at work on the farm as soon as they were old enough — a playpen was a common sight at the stand when the kids were still babies, and as young children, they pitched in.

Those early days working the land helped inspire Rose Andrews to begin Farm Days with Rose, a tour offered monthly to children interested in seeing how the farm operates.

“I want kids to see the farm as I did — as the best place in the world,” she said. 

But there’s a larger lesson she is trying to spread through the tours. She wants people to know where food comes from and why others should care, especially, she said, because when she talks to children about farming, most don’t know where their food comes from, or even what certain vegetables are.

Andrews added that the kids are fascinated to see that an onion is pulled right from the ground.

“They always love that and it’s something people should know,” she said.

Her mother also tries to educate people any chance she gets about food origins and why buying local is better.

“The food we sell here at the farm traveled 20 feet,” she said. “That should make you feel safe. The stuff from the grocery store could have traveled halfway around the world before you get it. That has such a big environmental impact.”

“Family matters and the farm matters. It’s hard work, but at the end of the day, you love what you do.”

— Rose Andrews

According to the Rose Andrews, sustainability is one of the most important issues facing farmers and consumers alike.

“How can we sustain the environment and still feed a massive population around the world?” she asked. She thinks purchasing local food is one way to do that.

She also noted the benefits of keeping dollars in the local economy, as well as the higher nutrient content of preservative-free produce that is fresh picked. Then there’s the flavor.

“There’s a big difference in taste,” Andrews said. “Farm fresh is just better taste-wise.”

Longtime customer Claudia Schappert of Wading River is a big fan of that taste difference. She said the tomatoes she gets from Andrews Farm are her favorite.

“They are so sweet and delicious — I make fresh sauce from them,” she said. “[The Andrews] are just the best people with incredible produce and flowers.”

Schappert also added that she feels like she has watched Rose Andrews grow up over the years.

“I would describe her as a gentle soul,” she said, noting that her granddaughter has been on one of Rose’s farm tours. “She has become so knowledgeable in her profession and her dedication to eating good food.”

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By Nancy Burner, Esq.

In my practice as an elder law attorney, clients often inquire about the benefits of gifting to reduce taxes or to qualify for Medicaid. As a senior with the unexpected need for long-term care in the future, the consequences of gifting may have unexpected results.

It is a common myth that everyone should be gifting monies during their life to avoid taxation later. Currently, a person can give away during life or die with $5.45 million before any federal estate tax is due. For married couples, this means that so long as your estate is less than $10.9 million, federal estate taxes are not a problem. For New York State estate tax, the current exemption is $4.1875 million and is currently slated to reach the federal estate tax exemption by 2019.

While it is true that there are gifting estate plans that can reduce estate taxes, any gift that exceeds the annual gift exclusion must be reported on a gift tax return during the decedent’s life and is deducted from their lifetime exemption. In 2016, that exclusion is $14,000. However, while gifting may be good if the goal is to reduce estate tax, it can be detrimental if the donor needs Medicaid to cover the cost of long-term care within five years of any gifts.

It is important to remember that the $14,000 only refers to the annual gift tax exclusion under the Internal Revenue Code. The Medicaid rules and regulations are different. In New York, Medicaid requires that all applicants and their spouses account for transfers made in the five years prior to applying for Institutional Medicaid. These gifts are totaled, and for each $12,633 that was gifted, one month of Medicaid ineligibility is imposed for Long Island applicants. It is also important to note that the ineligibility begins to run on the day that the applicant enters the nursing home and is “otherwise eligible for Medicaid” rather than on the day that the gift was made.

For example, if a grandfather gifted $100,000 over the course of five years to his grandchildren and then needed nursing home care, those gifts would be considered transfers and, if they cannot be returned, would create a period of ineligibility for Medicaid benefits for approximately eight months. What makes this even more difficult for some families is that an inability to give the money back or help the grandfather pay for his care is not taken into consideration, causing many families great hardship.

It would have been far better for the grandfather to have put assets into a Medicaid-qualified trust five years ago to start the period of ineligibility and allow the trustee to make the annual gifts. Another concern when gifting is considering to whom you are gifting? Once a gift is made to a person, it becomes subject to their creditors, legal status and can adversely affect their government benefits.

Accordingly, if you make a gift to a person who has creditors or who later gets a divorce, that gift could be lost to those debts. Consider creating a trust for the benefit of the debtor-beneficiary to ensure that their monies are protected. Another problem arises when making gifts to minors. Because a minor cannot hold property, if gifted substantial sums, someone would have to be appointed as the guardian of the property for that child before the funds could be used.

To avoid this problem, consider creating a trust for the minor beneficiary and designate a trustworthy trustee who will manage the money for the minor until they are old enough to manage it themselves.

Finally, if gifting to a disabled beneficiary, make sure to review what government benefits they may be receiving. If any of the benefits are “needs based,” even small gifts may disqualify them for their benefits. In order to maintain eligibility, a Supplemental Needs Trust could be created to preserve benefits for the disabled beneficiary.

A common phrase comes to mind “do not try this at home.” Before doing any kind of substantial gifting, or even if you have begun gifting, see an elder law attorney who concentrates their practice in Medicaid and estate planning to help optimize your chances of qualifying for Medicaid and/or reduce estate taxes, while still preserving the greatest amount of assets.

Nancy Burner, Esq. practices elder law and estate planning from her East Setauket office.

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By losing just 10 pounds, you can prevent deadly illness, alleviate daily pain and improve your quality of life. Stock photo

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Some research shows that obesity may be reaching a plateau. Is this true? It depends on how the data is analyzed. According to one study, yes; it has plateaued when looking at short, two-year periods from 2003 to 2011 (1).

However, another published study shows a picture that is not as positive (2). The study’s authors believe obesity has not plateaued; when looking over a longer period of time, statistics suggest that obesity has reached a new milestone. There are now more obese patients in the United States than there are overweight patients. And no, it is not because we have fewer overweight patients. This is based on a study that reviewed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). These results were in adults over the age of 20. This should be an eye-opener.

Unfortunately, according to one study, the probability is not very good for someone to go from obese to “normal” weight in terms of body mass index (3). In this observational trial, results show that an obese man has a 0.5 percent chance of achieving normal weight, while a woman has a slightly better chance, 1 percent. This study used data from the UK Clinical Practice Datalink. The data were still not great for men and women trying to achieve at least a 5 percent weight loss, but better than the prior data. Patients who were more obese actually had an easier time losing 5 percent of their body weight.

What are two major problems with being obese? One, obesity is a disease in and of itself, as noted by the American Medical Association in 2013 (4). Two, obesity is associated with — and is even potentially a significant contributor to — many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, cancer, cognitive decline and dementia. When I attended the 28th Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine in June 2015 at Harvard Medical School, a panel of experts noted that there are over 180 chronic diseases associated with obesity.

In this article, we will focus on one significant multifaceted disease, cancer. Watch out for cancer One of the more unpredictable diseases to treat is cancer.

What are the risk factors?

Beyond family history and personal history, obesity seems to be important. In fact, obesity may be a direct contributor to 4 percent of cancer in men and 7 percent of cancer in women (5). This translates into 84,000 cases per year (6). On top of these stunning statistics, there is about a 50 percent increased risk of death associated with cancer patients who are obese compared to those with normal BMIs (7).

What about with breast cancer?

The story may be surprising and disappointing. According to an analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative, those who were obese had increased risks of invasive breast cancer and of death once the diagnosis was made (8). The severity of the breast cancer and its complications were directly related to the severity of the obesity. There was a 58 percent increased risk of advanced breast cancer in those with a BMI of >35 kg/m2 versus those with normal BMI of <25 kg/m2. And this obese group also had a strong association with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer.

However, those who lost weight did not reduce their risk of breast cancer during the study. There were 67,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79 involved in this prospective (forward-looking) study. The researchers do not know why patients who lost weight did not reduce their risk profile for cancer and suggest the need for further studies. This does not imply that lifestyle changes do not have a beneficial impact on breast cancer.

What can we do?

We find that fat is not an inert or static substance, far from it. Fat contains adipokines, cell-signaling (communicating) proteins that ultimately may release inflammatory factors in those who have excessive fat. Inflammation increases the risk of tumor development and growth (9).

There is a potentially simple step that obese cancer patients may be able to take — the addition of vitamin D. In a study in older overweight women, those who lost weight and received vitamin D supplementation were more likely to reduce inflammatory factor IL-6 than those who had weight loss without supplementation (10). This was only the case if the women were vitamin D insufficient. This means blood levels were between 10 and 32 ng/mL to receive vitamin D.

Interestingly, it has been suggested that overweight patients are more likely to have low levels of vitamin D, since it gets sequestered in the fat cells and, thus, may reduce its bioavailability. Weight loss helps reduce inflammation, but the authors also surmise that it may also help release sequestered vitamin D. The duration of this randomized controlled trial, the gold standard of studies, was one year, involving 218 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 59.

All of the women were placed on lifestyle modifications involving diet and exercise. The treatment group received 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily. Those women who received vitamin D3 and lost 5 to 10 percent of body weight reduced their inflammation more than those in the vitamin D group who did not lose weight.

What does medicine have to offer?

There are a host of options ranging from lifestyle modifications to medications to medical devices to bariatric surgery. In 2015, the FDA approved two medical devices that are intragastric (stomach) balloons (11). The balloons are filled with 500 mL of saline after inserting them in the stomach via upper endoscopy. They need to be removed after six months, but they give the sense of being satiated more easily and help with weight loss.

One, the ReShape Dual Balloon, is intended to go hand-in-hand with diet and exercise. It is meant for obese patients with a BMI of 30-40 kg/m2 and a comorbidity, such as diabetes, who have failed to lose weight through diet and exercise. In a randomized controlled trial involving 326 obese patients, those who received the balloon insertion lost an average of 14.3 lb in six months, compared 7.2 lb for those who underwent a sham operation.

Lifestyle modifications

In an ode to lifestyle modifications, a study of type 2 diabetes patients showed that diet helped reduce weight, while exercise helped maintain weight loss for five years. In this trial, 53 percent of patients who had initially lost 23 lb (9 percent of body weight) over 12 weeks and maintained it over one year were able to continue to maintain this weight loss and preserve muscle mass through diet and exercise over five years (12). They also benefited from a reduction in cardiovascular risk factors. In the initial 12-week period, the patients’ HbA1C was reduced from 7.5 to 6.5 percent, along with a 50 percent reduction in medications.

We know that obesity is overwhelming. It’s difficult to lose weight and even harder to reach a normal weight; however, the benefits far outweigh the risks of remaining obese. Lifestyle modifications are a must that should be discussed with your doctor. In addition, there are a range of procedures available to either help jump start the process, to accelerate progress or to help maintain your desired weight.

References: (1) JAMA 2014;311:806-814. (2) JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(8):1412-1413. (3) Am J Public Health 2015;105(9):e54-59. (4) ama-assn.org. (6) cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/obesity. (7) N Engl J Med 2003;348:1625-1638. (8) JAMA Oncol online June 11, 2015. (9) Clin Endocrinol 2015;83(2):147-156. (10) Cancer Prev Res 2015;8(7):1-8. (11) fda.gov. (12) ADA 2015 Abstract 58-OR.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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A photo of the sun taken with the new telescope by Alan Friedman

Visitors to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Reichert Planetarium can now view the sun through a new solar telescope. The planetarium has just installed a Lunt Solar Systems hydrogen-alpha solar telescope in the observatory — for daytime observation of the sun.

Dave Bush keeps an eye on the sun with the new Vanderbilt solar telescope. Photo courtesy of the Vanderbilt Museum
Dave Bush keeps an eye on the sun with the new Vanderbilt solar telescope. Photo courtesy of the Vanderbilt Museum

Dave Bush, the planetarium’s technical and production coordinator, and an astronomy educator, said the solar telescope is mounted “piggy back” onto the 16-inch Meade reflecting telescope in order to track the sun across the sky.

“The refractor-style telescope with its 80-milimeter optical aperture gives us sharp detail and contrast of features on the surface and the limb, or edge, of the sun,” he said. “This telescope allows us to see prominences, flares, super granulation, filaments and active regions.”

Bush explained that hydrogen-alpha light is emitted by the hydrogen atoms that make up the majority of the sun’s composition. When electrons within the hydrogen atoms absorb energy and rise to a higher energy level and then fall back to their original orbits, light is emitted at a particular wavelength that can be seen with the specialized telescope.

“Typically, telescopic views of objects in outer space rarely change before our eyes in real time,” Bush said. “However, on a day when the sun is particularly active we can watch features on the sun evolve before our eyes while looking through an H-alpha telescope! The sun is dynamic and alive. It changes daily, and rotates,” he said.

A photo of the sun taken with the new telescope by Alan Friedman
A photo of the sun taken with the new telescope by Alan Friedman

In explaining the solar features in the picture of the sun, right, shot by photographer Alan Friedman, Bush said:

◆ The wisps of white curling off the upper left curve of the sun are prominences or arcs of gas that erupt from the surface. Sometimes the loops extend thousands of miles into space.

◆ The lighter spots and streaks are called plages, the French word for beaches, and are, appropriately, hot spots or bright emissions caused by emerging flux regions associated with the magnetic field of the sun.

◆ The tiny hair-like lines that extend from the surface are spicules. These are jets of hot gas that can rise up to 6,000 miles high. Most last only 15 minutes before morphing into new spicules.

◆ The dark spots are sun spots, which are cooler areas of the surface caused by the suppression of convection cells due to the sun’s strong magnetic field.

◆ The sun is 93 million miles from Earth and its size is almost beyond human comprehension — 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the sun.

The solar telescope is available for viewing on a limited schedule, on clear days. (The sun is not observable on cloudy or rainy days.)

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium is located at 180 Little Neck Road in Centerport. For more information, call 631-854-5579 or visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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‘White Lilies,’ an oil painting by Ralph Iervolino will be raffled off at the show. Image from Constance Iervolino

The North Shore Beach Property Owners Association Auxiliary will host an Art Show & Sale at the North Shore Beach Clubhouse, 55 Clubhouse Drive, Rocky Point, Saturday, Aug. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. and again from 7 to 9 p.m. Featuring 120 original paintings by nine Rocky Point artists. $5 admission includes light refreshments. Purchase a $5 raffle to win a painting. 25 percent of proceeds go toward NSBPOA renovations. Call 631-821-9207 for questions.

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'Into the Blue' by Mindy Carman

By Ellen Barcel

It was just about two years ago that Mindy Carman stopped into the Port Jefferson Village Center to ask about showing her work at the center’s gallery. She was surprised to find out that, first of all, the center was booked two years in advance. Second, the gallery is so large that a group show was suggested to her.

It didn’t take long for Carman to reach out to some of her artist friends and put together Celebrating the Beauty and Spirit of Long Island, a show of approximately 75 pieces that will run from Sept. 2 through Sept. 28. “Two years went by so fast,” said Carman who is now getting ready for the opening.

While the group’s common theme is the beauty of Long Island, each local artist approaches the theme in a very different way. Of the five artists, Carmen herself is a photographer. “Nancy and Charlie are my best friend’s parents,” referring to photographer and watercolorist Nancy Kapp and steel sculptor Charlie Kapp. Rounding out the artists showing their work are Mary Jo Allegra, landscapist in oils, and Moriah Ray, a watercolorist.

'Lobster Pot' by Mindy Carman
‘Lobster Pot’ by Mindy Carman

Carman noted she “mainly concentrates on capturing the beauty of our everyday surroundings [showing] us amazing images we take for granted living here in the coastal and agricultural towns of eastern Long Island.” This is evident in “Lobster Pot” an ordinary object found along the shore but seen from her very unique perspective.

Carman, who minored in photography in college, graduating from Stony Brook University, added, “capturing the moment in time, there’s something super-neat about that … It’s very gratifying when someone buys [a piece of my work].” She uses both film and digital media to capture that special moment in time. “I put pictures in old boat port holes as a frame,” said Carmen, noting that she also works in multimedia. “I design with sea glass and then pour resin on it.” There will be several of these multimedia pieces in the show as well as her photographs.

'Floral Study, Avalon' by Moriah Ray
‘Floral Study, Avalon’ by Moriah Ray

Ray, who grew up in Port Jefferson, attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She returned to Long Island with a master’s degree in art. A professional artist who works in art restoration and conservation, Ray will have approximately 15 of her watercolor paintings in the show. “I just love watercolor. It’s my favorite medium,” she said.

Ray did studies of wildflowers in Avalon Park in Stony Brook for some of her works. “I try to keep the light in there, keep it the way the flowers are in the landscaping,” she added. A palette knife is Allegra’s tool in creating her abstract landscapes. Usually a palette knife (a thin, flexible, blunt blade) is used to mix colors of paint on a palette. But some creative artists use the knife to apply paint to the canvas. Allegra, who is an art teacher at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, also teaches children’s and adult’s workshops during the summer in her Sun Porch Studio at her home in Stony Brook. Allegra attended Pratt Institute for undergraduate work and Columbia for a master’s degree in teaching and works primarily in oils.

The paints “move like butter, spreading across the canvas,” with the knife, she said. “I have a love affair with color and shape and how colors relate to each other.” She added, “The shapes in nature are an armature for applying color … I’ll mix a whole variety of colors that appeal to me … a palette of colors I’m attracted to. I let colors decide where they’re going on the canvas.” She added that the personality of each color “changes depending on who they’re hanging out with.” Quilters, stained glass artists and other artisans can relate to this, knowing that colors appear differently depending on what other colors they’re paired with.

Allegra’s canvases are small, in the six- to eight-inch range. Approximately 10 of them will be in the show. “I’m a playful person and my art definitely illustrates that. My hope is that when the people see my paintings they feel that,” she added.

‘The Wandering Star’ by Nancy Kapp. Photo from Milinda Watson
‘The Wandering Star’ by Nancy Kapp. Photo from Milinda Watson

Nancy Kapp, of Sound Beach, once worked in her husband’s ironworking business in addition to her photography and watercolors. “Photography has been my passion my whole life.” Her watercolors “are from my own photos — they’re all original.” Long Island, she said, “that’s my inspiration, the beauty of the area.” Kapp added, “My husband and I, as a couple, are boaters and skiers and that’s reflected in our art.”

Charlie Kapp, an ironworker by profession, “started the artistic side [of ironworking]” just a few years ago. “He does some freestanding work, up to about three feet,” but for the show, only pieces that can be hung on the wall are included, his wife said. “It’s something he always wanted to do.” She added that some of his work is also in a gallery in Vermont.

Ray summed up the show when she said, “Everybody’s pieces are so different. Long Island has such a rich culture.”

An opening reception, to which all are invited, will be held Friday, Sept. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. The Port Jefferson Village Center is located at 101A East Broadway and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. For further information, call 631-802-2160 or visit www.portjeff.com.

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Dog days got you down? Come meet the bulldogs of LIBR this Saturday. Photo courtesy of LIBR

Dog days got you down? Come meet the bulldogs of LIBR this Saturday. Photo courtesy of LIBR

Long Island Bulldog Rescue will hold its 4th annual Barbecue and Yard Sale Fundraiser Saturday, Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event, held at 304 Frowein Road in Center Moriches, will include a huge yard sale set on a beautiful horse farm, bullies on hand for guests to meet, as well as LIBR volunteers who will answer all questions on adoption, fostering and volunteering. Mobile dog grooming will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a wonderful barbecue, including hot dogs, hamburgers, and pasta salad, donated by the event sponsors, Iavarone Brothers, as well as beverages will be available for purchase during the fun-filled day. All proceeds will go toward providing medical, behavioral and other services to save the lives of bulldogs in urgent need of finding their own “LIBR 4EvrFamily!”® Free admission. Rain date is Aug. 28.

For more information, visit www.longislandbulldogrescue.org.

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Gloria Rocchio. Photo by Marie Gilberti

By Katelyn Winter

In 1939 Ward Melville along with his wife Dorothy created a not-for-profit corporation, the Stony Brook Community Fund, later named The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, to maintain and protect the historical and sensitive environmental properties that he would deed to it over the coming years. 75 years later, the organization continues to thrive. I recently had the opportunity to interview Ms. Gloria Rocchio, president of The WMHO, in her office at the Stony Brook Village Center.

How did you get involved with the WMHO?

My husband and I moved here on Memorial Day in 1977, and we volunteered for the organization. Mr. Melville passed away on June 7, 1977. I looked out the window, and I asked myself, is everything going to change? So we volunteered for a year or so, and then my predecessor decided to retire. I wasn’t too interested in applying [for the position] because I was head of Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. My husband wanted me to, because he never saw me. I was traveling to Washington, Albany and all over Long Island. So I applied [because] after volunteering here for a couple of years, I thought I knew what should be changed. I told them what I thought at the interview, and as I was leaving, I thought, well I won’t be selected. And I was. 36 years later, here I am, and I love it.

So you’ve lived here since 1977?

Actually I’ve been coming here since 1959. My mother and I came here, and when I got married, it was the only place I wanted to live. [My husband and I] got married in Nassau County and we honeymooned at the Three Village Inn.

What do you love about being president of The WMHO?

Well, first of all, for the first ten years I worked for Mrs. Melville — she was president. She was a wonderful mentor; I learned everything from her. She guided me, she had a great sense of architecture, and she was just a very intelligent, brilliant lady. Every day is a challenge. When I hire people I always say you’ll never be bored again, and it’s true. It’s not for everybody, it’s 24/7, and I’m not a one-man band. I have a wonderful staff that’s very hard working and we have a board of trustees that are very interesting, community minded, selfless, dedicated, and many of the people in the community don’t know them but they’re there and we have many meetings throughout the year. I’m just happy to be here.

What do you love about Stony Brook Village, and what is your favorite season here?

Oh, I love it all, I can’t pick one over another. But season is probably the fall, it’s just beautiful. We own the wetlands, 88 acres of it, and [one day] Dr. [Erwin] Ernst and I took some elected officials to the Marine Conservation center in a boat. It was in October, and the grasses and the trees were so golden. It was [Ernst’s] idea to come up with a Discovery pontoon boat to go into the wetlands. It was so different than seeing it by land, and it has really amazed people. Twenty something years we’ve been doing it. I once got a call from a lady who said she wanted to “take that ride into the swamp.” The next day, she called and said, “I never knew anything about the importance of wetlands, and how they contribute to the ecosystem and the wildlife.” She said it was “phenomenal.” They’ve been giving us rave reviews ever since.

What is the story behind the portrait of George Washington that hangs behind your desk?

That’s a funny story, because for a while I didn’t know either. This is Mr. Melville’s office, and I’ve been sitting in front of this picture for 36 years. As the years went by, I started to understand why [it was there]. Mr. Melville purchased properties that had to do with early America and George Washington’s spy ring; he bought the Brewster House. He knew about that in 1942, and so he purchased the Grist Mill. All these things had to do with early America, and Mr. Melville was fascinated by George Washington and what he did, and I am too. I do a lot of research on the houses, and I learned that one of the Brewster’s was very involved in the construction of the King’s Highway, and that’s how I found out about Austin Roe. Now that’s the Heritage Trail. It’s all so important.

How is the ‘It Takes a Team to Build a Village’ exhibit going?

Very well. In fact, we had a reception fairly recently, and a lot of people came. The board said it’s so popular [that] we’re leaving it up as long as we can, because more and more people are finding out about it. We did this because it’s the 75th anniversary of the village, and most things that happened in this area came out of this organization. The archives are enormous. We started to look in boxes and we found an eight millimeter film. It said “The Village Dedication,” and we got it transferred so we could watch it. And son of a gun, it was a video of what Mr. Melville did on July 3, 1941! He had huge parades, and a beauty contest — which we wouldn’t do now. He dedicated the village from the balcony at the fire house. We thought we should do something like this, and we couldn’t do anything as grandiose as he did, but we had this nice little re-dedication on July 10, and it was great. Then we found extraordinary documents, and we’re hoping to get funding to work with Stony Brook University and the Frank Melville Memorial Library to digitize it all and create a website. It’s a huge undertaking but that’s what this has inspired us to do.

What would you say you are most proud of about your time with the WMHO?

One is the Walk for Beauty — 23 years, raising 1.3 million for breast cancer research. [Also] the Youth Corps — 20 years, putting through scores of children. We now have 69 children enrolled who will all know what Ward and Dorothy did here, and they can pay that forward and teach others. I’m proud of the Educational & Cultural Center we built, I’m proud of the Inner Court, where Crazy Beans is — that used to be storage sheds, and we converted them — and The Jazz Loft — I’m very proud of that.

Tell us what upcoming events you’re excited for people to enjoy.

Well, the website with the digitized documents is one. But we’ve also received a grant from the Robert D. L. Gardiner Foundation to do distance learning. What that means is that an instructor giving a lesson in, say, the Brewster House [in Setauket], would be filmed and onto the distance learning site so that people from around the world could learn about the rich history we have here. We already have the cameras installed in the Thompson House [in Setauket] and the Brewster House and we’re developing programs for them. One program should be ready this fall, and the other should be ready next spring. It’s very exciting.

Do you remember what your younger self wanted to be when you grew up?

It’s funny, I wanted to be an artist, and I was an artist, for a while. I went to Pratt College, went into that career, and felt too isolated — you painted alone. I like people. But this is kind of an art form, when you think about it. I worked for government, county executives for a while, but then got into, not events, but being head of promoting Long Island. It’s interesting; it’s definitely an art form, this place. Recently, I began to understand that Mr. Melville wanted us to live with history. We take it for granted, and we shouldn’t. It’s really a phenomenon, what we live with. This morning I got stopped by a resident who has lived here for a long time and she said, “I want to tell you, Gloria, that living here is like living in a park, it’s so beautiful. It’s just wonderful to have it this way.” And I told her, well, as long as we can, the organization plans to keep it that way. It gets more challenging with years. You try to respect the past, but we have to be current and relevant, and be receptive to change. That’s what we try to do.

If you had to pick an ice cream flavor to represent yourself, what would you choose?

Muddy boots! It’s from Latitude 121, it’s such a great flavor.

At the end of the charming and educational interview I had with Ms. Rocchio, she left me with a very inspiring piece of advice. It is a quote, originally by Kuan-Tzu from the third century BC. It is also part of the inscription on a plaque at the purple beech tree on the Stony Brook Village Green planted by Mrs. Dorothy Melville on her 88th birthday, and was incorporated into the speech given by Dr. Richard Rugen, chairman of the board of trustees of The WMHO, for the closing remarks of the 75th anniversary of Stony Brook Village July 10 of this year.

“If you plan for a year, sow a seed. If you plan for a decade, plant a tree.

If you plan for a century, educate the people.”

This simple quote compromises the heartfelt and dedicated mission of not only The Ward Melville Heritage Organization but of Ms. Rocchio herself.

Author Katelyn Winter is a rising junior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., majoring in English and creative writing. She is from Stony Brook and hopes to one day work in the publishing industry.

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As we count down the days of summer on our hands and feet and we prepare for yet another tour around the academic merry-go-round, some of us are squeezing in leisure activities that become increasingly harder to do amidst trigonometry tests, English exams, soccer practices and musical rehearsals.

Some summer revelers go to amusement parks, where their bodies travel in directions that defy the typical linear motion from our beds to our cars to our offices.

What is it about those moments when we fly around the corner of a roller coaster, or when we tilt back and forth in a machine that moves incredibly quickly that people find so thrilling? Is it the feeling of our stomachs moving inside our bodies, the moment when we experience something completely new and more akin to that which another animal, like a bird, might feel — or is it something more basic?

The answers depend on who you are and what you consider fun. I think, however, at the base of these wild rides is something we share in different degrees and circumstances. We enjoy the moment between when we exercise what we feel is the usual level of control over our lives, and that instant which balances between thrill and terror when we give up control.

Yes, I know there are people who crave control to such a degree that almost all the decisions they make seem rooted in the power to influence each element or variable in their lives. To return to a scene from childhood, they are holding a crayon in their hand and carefully staying within the lines of life’s coloring book.

Maybe I wasn’t enough of an artist, or maybe I just enjoyed the entropy that comes from my universe which always seems to be moving toward a greater state of disorder, but those undirected marks outside the lines always seemed so liberating. The lines were the equivalent of someone instructing me to, “Do this, stay here, do that.” My squiggly and nonrepresentational lines were enshrined in my response: “No, thanks.”

Recently, my son, brother and I went sailing in a strong wind. My brother, who captained the small boat, delighted at the sudden surge of speed as we flew across Port Jefferson Harbor. We were flying through the water at speeds that rivaled nearby motorboats, leaving behind a bubbly, foamy water trail. After several trips back and forth, the wind picked up enough strength that it submerged half of the boat. We heeled so far that my brother and son were heading toward the water. Still planted on the higher side of the boat, I reached for my son’s life jacket and held on, trying to use our combined weight to keep us from capsizing.

Seconds before we reached that tipping point, however, my brother let the sails out, dumping the wind and righting the ship just in time. While the outing was enjoyable up to that point, it reached a whole new level of excitement, especially for my son, who couldn’t wait to tell his cousins about how we started to tip. Naturally, their reaction was to put on their bathing suits, grab their life jackets and head for the boat.

So, what is it about those out-of-control moments that are so enjoyable, particularly in the retelling? Maybe, it’s just that — for the precise instant when gravity seems optional, when our routine experiences aren’t enough to allow us to predict the future with certainty the way we can with so many other things — anything is possible. And our minds, like our bodies, jump into the excitement of the unknown.

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